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Al-Ahram Weekly 28 Jan. - 3 Feb. 1999 Issue No. 414 
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Published in Cairo by AL-AHRAM established in 1875 |
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Al-Ahram Weekly 28 Jan. - 3 Feb. 1999 Issue No. 414
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| Published in Cairo by AL-AHRAM established in 1875 |
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Egypt Region International Focus Economy Opinion Culture Features Living Travel Sports People Time Out Chronicles Cartoons Letters Delusions of grandeur
By Ibrahim Nafie
Once again the Iraqi regime has shown itself addicted to the kinds of warped judgment that have already resulted in an endless catalogue of disasters for both Iraq and the Arab world. The emergency meeting of Arab foreign ministers, held in Cairo, presented Iraq with an opportunity to reconcile itself with the Arab world and to take steps towards ending the cycle of American strikes and economic sanctions. But rather than learning from mistakes, the Iraqis, in the person of Foreign Minister Mohamed Said Al-Sahhaf, staged a walk out and, with customary bravado, accompanied it with a torrent of accusations directed at fellow Arab countries.
It was quite obvious that this theatrical display had been planned in advance. Even as the preparatory contacts for the foreign ministers' meeting were under way, Iraqi officials, through the Iraqi media machine, were accusing Arab governments, particularly those of Saudi Arabia and Egypt, of manoeuvering to forestall any expressions of high level support for Baghdad.
It soon became clear, however, that, contrary to these allegations, these countries, in cooperation with Syria and Yemen, were exerting every effort to ensure a successful meeting of Arab foreign ministers. It was also clear that the purpose of this meeting was to examine all aspects of the Iraqi question and to send a message to the world that the Arabs condemn the military aggression against Iraq. But the fact that the meeting constituted an attempt to formulate a united Arab stance in support of the Iraqi people was predictably ignored by Iraq's leaders.
The closing statement of the consultative meeting of the Arab foreign ministers -- the statement which ostensibly provoked Al-Sahhaf into staging his "walk-out" -- amply demonstrates the distance between the positions the Arabs hoped to adopt and the positions of the US administration, to which, according to Baghdad's propaganda, they were supposedly kowtowing.
That Arab foreign ministers met at all to discuss the Iraqi situation could not have pleased the US administration, which wants to retain every option vis-à-vis Iraq, with or without the cooperation of the Security Council. Beyond this, the Arabs' declaration of their opposition to the use of military force against Iraq conflicts with Washington's desire to keep this option open. Arab advocacy of a diplomatic solution to the Iraqi dilemma runs counter to the American contention that the only solution is to topple the Iraqi regime, while Arab appeals to the international community to work together towards lifting sanctions is a stance Washington rejects outright.
All of this was conveniently ignored by an Iraqi leadership intent on dictating the position Arabs are supposed to adopt. To contradict Baghdad, they claim, is to betray the Arab nation over which the Iraqi regime has anointed itself sole guardian and spokesman. Such are their delusions of grandeur that Iraq's leaders ignore the fact that the foreign ministers had responsibility for formulating a position that would be acceptable to the international community.
Only a responsible, sensible position can hope to encourage other countries that have reservations about US policy towards Iraq to explore practical avenues towards lifting sanctions and helping Iraq rejoin the international fold. The Arab foreign ministers could hardly be expected to appeal to the international community to safeguard Iraq's territorial integrity, to refrain from intervening in its internal affairs and to leave the fate of the Iraqi leaders to the will of the Iraqi people and, at the same time, ignore recent pronouncements of Iraqi officials concerning other Arab governments, let alone the recent resolutions of the Iraqi National Council concerning the borders and national status of Kuwait.
If Arab foreign ministers were to follow Baghdad's dictates, they would become an international laughing stock. Our grievances against the US and its allies for applying double standards to the Middle East would not only lose all its force but we, too, would have succumbed to the same foibles. Iraq has the right to encroach on the national sovereignty of its neighbours and to intervene in their domestic affairs, we would be saying, but no one has the right to do that to Iraq.
Were Arab foreign ministers wrong in their attempt to formulate a united Arab position that could be taken seriously by the international community? Was the committee that was chaired by Syria and included Egypt, Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Algeria, Tunisia, Bahrain, as well as Esmat Abdel-Meguid, the secretary-general of the Arab League, so misguided in its hopes that such a position might work towards bringing an end to Iraq's plight?
Iraq's leaders, in their passion for mindless tirades and absolutist demagoguery, would appear to think so. But then, their refusal to see reason also calls into question the sincerity of Baghdad's desire to end the cycle of catastrophe it has inflicted on the Iraqi people. In fact, it brings into question the exact purpose of an Arab foreign ministers' meeting if all that is needed is an Arab rubber stamp on the Iraqi line as formulated by the "valiant heroes" of Baghdad.
The Iraqi foreign minister's stormy exit was all too reminiscent of those Arab meetings in which a single Arab nation has conferred upon itself the right to veto the collective will of all other Arab nations. The Arab world has had more than its fill of such hyperbole. It has already been responsible for the squandering of too many resources, too much loss of moral authority. If Iraq is serious in its desire to end its isolation, the solution lies in its hands. All it has to do is to demonstrate that it is capable of dealing with an Arab world that is not prepared to kowtow to Iraq's demands, unwilling to sacrifice higher Arab interests and loath to have its dignity rubbed in the mud.
Unfortunately Al-Sahhaf's departure from the Arab ministers' meeting showed the real nature of the Iraqi regime. Once again its calculations have misfired. But this time Baghdad was not the only loser. The Arab world was also a victim because it lost a golden opportunity to mend its rifts, a task that is so crucial, not only for Iraq, but for the future of the entire Arab people.
